New York v. U.S. Department of the Interior

New York, New Jersey, and six other Northeastern states filed a lawsuit in the District of Maine challenging three offshore wind leases awarded to Invenergy Wind Offshore LLC and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind LLC, one lease in the New York Bight and two in the Gulf of Maine. The complaints alleged harms to New York's energy interests, economic interests, climate goals and economic and public health interests and New Jersey's energy interests and also alleged that the cancellation of the leases would harm other plaintiff states’ energy, economic, climate, public health, and environmental interests. The states asserted that the lease cancellations were arbitrary and capricious because the defendants failed to provide a reasoned explanation, failed to explain their change in position or account for the states’ reliance interests; failed to address alternative means of achieving their objectives; and failed to provide a “genuine justification” for cancellation. The complaint asserted that cancellations of the leases constituted a major federal action subject to NEPA and that the cancellations violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. In addition, the states asserted that the settlement agreements violated the Judgment Fund Act, Antideficiency Act, Purpose Statute, and Miscellaneous Receipts Act, and exceeded statutory authority. The states also asserted that the settlement agreements were unconstitutional because they violated the Spending and Appropriations Clauses and the separation of powers doctrine. They also asserted a claim that the settlement agreements were ultra vires.